Gerard David (1460-1523), Workshop of - Compianto sul Cristo morto
Gerard David’s workshop, Lamentation over the Dead Christ, this oil on panel depicting a subject already executed by the master is surely the work of a pupil endowed with remarkable painting skills; executed in oil on an oak panel, it is in excellent condition, still with its patina. Gerard David (Oudewater, about 1460 – Bruges, 13 August 1523) was a Flemish painter.
He followed Hans Memling’s artistic line in tones and in the ability to portray a microcosm of humanity, elevating it to a level of greater rigor and sobriety. He was born in Oudewater, now located in the province of Utrecht. He moved to Bruges in 1483, presumably coming from Haarlem, where he had already formed his youthful artistic style under the guidance of Albert van Oudewater.
He carried out his career in Bruges, where he became a member of the guild in 1484, and after the death of Hans Memling, which occurred in 1494, obtained the role of master.
In 1496 he married Cornelia Cnoop, daughter of the dean of the goldsmiths’ guild.
He died on 13 August 1523, when he was already one of Bruges’ most notable citizens; his remains were buried in the Church of Our Lady. In his earliest works, David followed in the footsteps of Haarlem artists such as Dieric Bouts and Geertgen tot Sint Jans, showing from then on greater energy and originality in the handling of colors. In the early Belgian period, he studied and copied the masterpieces of Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hugo van der Goes. Among his early works is The Adoration of the Magi at the Uffizi (circa 1495).
Subsequently he came into contact with the master Memling, who more than anyone else followed him in his evolutionary and creative path. In maturity, another great Flemish painter, Quentin Massys, exerted a certain influence on David during his visit to Antwerp, where he was impressed by the immense vitality of the conception of sacred themes. It is no coincidence that the Pietà painted by David, preserved at the National Gallery in London, was created under this influence.
By that point in his career the artist had already achieved considerable success with a series of paintings, such as The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (National Gallery), the Polyptych of Saint Jerome of Cervara (Genova, Brignole-Sale gallery), The Annunciation (Sigmaringen Collection), and the Madonna with Angels and Saints (Musée des Beaux-Arts of Rouen).
Only a small number of works remain in Bruges, among which stand out The Judgment of Cambyses and The Transfiguration, while the rest are scattered around the world. The reason may lie in the oblivion into which his name fell despite the high level of his art.
It remains to emphasize that during David’s career Bruges and its painters were considered a benchmark for world art, and the Flemish towns of that time also enjoyed a golden age from a commercial and political perspective.
The fundamental elements of his painting, somewhat more open to innovations than those of his master Memling, were a clear severity in the schemas, a good number of new psychological and formal traits, a tendency toward landscape ahead of Joachim Patinir, the criterion of grouping or isolating the figures, a fondness for fantastical costumes, form, inner lyricism, and the physical description of the characters.
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